Cartons



Dec. 13, 1966 w. s.- ATKINSON 3,291,371

CARTONS Filed May 27, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet l W. G ATKINSON Dec. 13, 1966 CARTONS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 27, 1965 FIG.3

FIGA

United States Patent 3,291,371 CARTONS William G. Atkinson, London, Ontario, Canada, assignor,

by mesne assignments, to Unipak Cartons Ltd., Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Filed May 27, 1965, Ser. No. 459,199 Claims priority, application Canada, Mar. 30, 1965, 926,917 3 Claims. (Cl. 229-39) This invention relates to enclosed cartons.

Heretofore, when considering the filling of cartons, having top and bottom closure flaps and a plurality of article receiving compartments, with said articles, the bottom closure flaps have firstly been sealed. The sealing of the bottom flaps enables the walls and bottom to be retained in mutually cooperating relationship thereby ensuring that the carton will be in proper erected condition to receive the articles. The carton has then been placed on a conveyor until it reaches the filling location whereupon the articles are placed, under gravity, into the compartments and the top closure flaps folded and sealed. This method of filling is known as top loading.

However, it is not always convenient to employ top loading and, therefore, the question of bottom loading must be contemplated. When employing bottom loading, however, it is not always convenient firstly to seal the top flaps so as to retain the structure in erected condition and, as the articles are placed into the compartments, from the bottom of the carton, it is obvious that closing and sealing of the bottom flaps can only occur after such placement of the articles. Hence, as neither the top or bottom flaps retain the structure in erected condition, it is the object of the present invention to provide suitable means, integral with the carton, which will initially retain the latter in erected condition during a filling operation.

Accordingly, the present invention relates in an enclosed carton of the type having a wall structure comprising side and end walls and at least one bottom closure flap, said carton including top closure flaps, and at least one partition defining a plurality of article receiving compartments within said carton, to the provision of (a) an interlock between at least one said top flap and said partition to retain said carton in erected condition during placement of the articles into the carton from the bottom thereof, said interlock being released upon contact of one or more of said articles with said one flap during such placement.

The invention is illustrated, by way of example, in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a simplified form of carton but showing the interlocks in inoperative position;

FIGURE 2 shows a portion of the carton of FIGURE 1, on an enlarged scale, with one interlock in operative position;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of a slightly different carton showing the interlocks in operative position; and

FIGURE 4 is a sectional side view of FIGURE 3.

Referring to the drawings, the carton shown therein has a wall structure comprising side walls 1, end walls 2 and bottom end closure flaps 3, and bottom side closure flaps (not shown). The carton also includes top end closure flaps 4 and top side closure flaps 5.

The form of carton shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 is provided with a central longitudinal partition 6 defining a pair of complementary article receiving compartments within the carton whereas, the form of carton shown in FIGURES 3 and 4 has additional partitions 7, extending normal to the longitudinal partition 6, further dividing the interior of the carton into a plurality of article receiving compartments, said longitudinal partition 6 being provided with an aperture 8 located adjacent either end thereof and to the upper edge of said partition 6.

Each top end closure flap 4 is provided with a substantially triangular hingeable flap section indicated generally at 9, each said flap section having an edge 10 freed from the reminder of its associated top end closure flap 4 and extending substantially in the same direction as the longitudinal partition 6. Each edge 10 is provided with a stepped portion 11 and each flap section 9 is integrally and hingedly connected to the remainder of its associated top end closure flaps 4 along a score line 12 extending, at an angle, from the end of the edge 10, remote from the stepped portion 11, to the free edge of each end closure flap 4.

As has been stated above, the invention is particularly suitable for top-loading by placing an erected carton on to the articles, with the latter entering the carton from the open bottom of the latter. Accordingly, to fill the carton of the present invention, it is necessary for a knocked-down carton to be erected and for the top end closure flaps 4 to be folded inwardly and slightly downwardly into the interior of the carton. In so doing, contact of the free edge of each said top flap 4 with the upper edge of the longitudinal partition 6, will cause each triangular hingeable flap section 9 to bend upwardly along its score line 12 until each stepped portion 11 enters an adjacent and associated aperture 8 of the longitudinal partition 6. Accordingly, the cooperation between each stepped portion 11 and each aperture 8 constitutes an interlock between the longitudinal partition 6 and the top end closure flaps 4 which thereby retains the carton in erected condition during placement of the articles into the carton from the open bottom of the latter.

FIGURE 3 shows the articles which, in this case, are constituted by bottles B, travelling along conveyors in the direction of the arrows. When the bottles have reached the filling station, an erected carton is then placed over the bottles and moved downwardly. Alternatively, and if desired, the erected carton can be maintained stationary, and the bottles moved upwardly, by any suitable means, through the open bottom of the carton and into their respective article receiving compartments.

Regardless of whether the bottles move with respect to the carton or vice versa, the tops of the endmost bottles will eventually contact the underside of the free ends of the top end closure flaps 4. Continued contact and movement will cause the latter to move upwardly and each triangular flap section 9 to hinge downwardly along its score line 12 whereby the stepped portion 11 will be disengaged from the associated aperture 8.

After such disengagement has occurred, the top and bottom closure flaps can be sealed in any convenient manner because the bottles will then be maintaining the carton in erected condition.

From the above description, it will be appreciated that each triangular flap section constitute first means on each top end closure flap and the apertures in the longitudinal partition constitute second means, the first and second means combining to form an interlock to retain the carton in erected condition during placement of the articles into the carton from the bottom thereof, the interlock being released upon contact of one or more articles with the top end flaps during such placement.

It will be appreciated that, if desired, the triangular hingeable flap sections can be located on the top closure side flaps and the partition formed with the apertures can extend along a transverse axis of the carton instead, as has been shown, along a longitudinal axis.

Thereafter, the top and bottom closure flaps are folded and sealed in any convenient manner with the contents.

I claim:

1. An enclosed carton having opposed side and end walls, top closure flaps associated with said side and end walls, and a partition extending between a pair of opposed walls of said carton defining a plurality of article receiving compartments within said carton, the top closure flaps associated with said pair of opposed carton walls being provided with means positioned and adapted to encounter the upper edge of said partition and releasably engaged said partition, releasably interlocking said top flaps and said partition to retain the carton in erected condition during placement of articles into the carton from the bottom thereof, said interlock being releasable upon engagement and displacement of said top closure flaps by said articles.

2. An enclosed carton having opposed side and end walls, top closure flaps associated with said side and end walls, and a partition extending between a pair of opposed walls of said carton defining a plurality of article receiving compartments within said carton, the top closure flaps associated with said pair of opposed carton Walls being provided with hingeable flap sections positioned and adapted to encounter the upper edge of said partition and releasably engage said partition, releasably interlocking said top flaps and said partition to retain the carton in erected condition during placement of articles into the carton from the bottom thereof, said interlock being releasable upon engagement and displacement of said top closure flaps by said articles.

3. An enclosed carton having opposed side and end walls, top closure flaps associated with said side and end walls, and a partition extending between a pair of opposed walls of said carton defining a plurality of article receiving compartments within said carton, the top closure flaps associated with said pair of opposed carton walls being provided with hingeable flap sections positioned and adapted to encounter the upper edge of said partition and engage recesses in said partition, releasably interlocking said top flaps and said partition to retain the carton in erected condition during placement of articles into the carton from the bottom thereof, said interlock being releasable upon engagement and displacement of said top closure flaps by said articles.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,586,156 2/1952 Ferguson 22945 2,989,222 6/1961 Haffenreffer 22915 3,107,840 10/1963 Vesak 22945 GEORGE O. RALSTON, Primary Examiner.

DAVID M. BOCKENEK, Examiner. 

1. AN ENCLOSED CARTON HAVING OPPOSED SIDE AND END WALLS, TOP CLOSURE FLAPS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID SIDE AND END WALLS, AND A PARTITION EXTENDING BETWEEN A PAIR OF OPPOSED WALLS OF SAID CARTON DEFINING A PLURALITY OF ARTICLE RECEIVING COMPARTMENTS WITHIN SAID CARTON, THE TOP CLOSURE FLAPS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID PAIR OF OPPOSED CARTON WALLS BEING PROVIDED WITH MEANS POSITIONED AND ADAPTED TO ENCOUNTER THE UPPER EDGE OF SAID PARTITION AND RELEASABLY ENGAGED SAID PARTITION, RELEASABLY INTERLOCKING SAID TOP FLAPS AND SAID PARTITION TO RETAIN THE CARTON IN ERECTED CONDITION DURING PLACEMENT OF ARTICLES INTO THE CARTON FROM THE BOTTOM THEREOF, SAID INTERLOCK BEING RELEASABLE UPON ENGAGEMENT AND DISPLACEMENT OF SAID TOP CLOSURE FLAPS BY SAID ARTICLES. 